True Crime All The Time - Janet Abaroa

Episode Date: June 22, 2026

On April 26, 2005, 25-year-old Janet Abaroa was found stabbed to death inside her Durham, North Carolina home. Investigators quickly focused on her husband, Raven Abaroa, but it would take years and a surprising piece of evidence before charges were filed.Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss Janet Abaroa. As the investigation progressed, it was clear that Raven was not a good guy. He admitted to numerous affairs, and various women came forward with stories of abuse and womanizing. But the case against him was thin, and even at trial, it was clear this was not going to be an easy prosecution.You can help support the show at patreon.com/truecrimeallthetimeVisit the show's website at truecrimeallthetime.com for contact, merchandise, and donation informationAn Emash Digital productionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You know, folks, making that decision to start a podcast or really any type of business, it's scary. It was for Gibby and I as well. What if no one listens? What if we make fools of ourselves? And it can be really hard to get over that doubt. But choosing to make that leap was one of the best decisions we've ever made. Another great decision was picking Shopify to help with our podcast merch.

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It's time to turn those what-ifs into with Shopify today. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at Shopify.com slash T-Cat. Go to Shopify.com slash T-Cat. That's Shopify.com slash T-C-A-T-T. Hello everyone and welcome to episode 508 of the True Crime All of the, the time podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson. And with me as always is my partner in true crime. Mike Gibson, Gibby. How are you? I am doing good. How about you? I am doing great, man. I'm feeling rested. You and I are both coming off a vacation. I went to Jamaica. My daughter got married.

It was an amazing time. Awesome. And you went to Greece. I went to Greece and had an awesome time with Christina, got engaged, you know, so life is good. That's amazing. Congratulations to you. Thanks. So we're both back. We're rested. We're ready for the rest of the year. Let's go ahead and give our Patreon shoutouts. We had Penny Lewis. Hey, Penny. Jinksie. Oh, I like some jinksie. Mike Hawk. What's going on, Hawk? Heather Bellamy. Hey, Heather. Jennifer Monroe. Well, thank you so much, Monroe. Desiree Baker. Hey, Desiree. And last but not least, Femke van Heerden. Femke. Yeah, love that name. Yeah, you do. And if we go back into the vault, This week we selected Jennifer Rackley. Well, thanks, Jennifer. Yeah, we appreciate all the Patreon support. We have a brand new episode out right now on True Crime All the Time on Salt where we're talking about Ben McDaniel.

This is a guy who in 2010, when cave diving at a popular tourist spot in Florida, and he never resurfaced. And they had a bunch of people looking for him. And there's a lot of mystery around this. because there are some who believed that he was never even in the cave. Yeah. So we dive into it all. Want to go cave diving or spulunking? I definitely don't want to go flunking or whatever you said.

But cave diving does not sound like fun to me. No. I'm sure if you're one of those real adventurous adrenaline seekers that would be cool, I am not that person. They were lucky to get you to go snorkeling, is what you're saying. Yes, and I did, though. Yeah. And had a blast.

All right, buddy, are you ready to get into this episode of true crime all the time? I'm ready. We're talking about Janet Aberroa. On April 26, 2005, 25-year-old Janet Aberroa was stabbed to death in her Durham, North Carolina home. Early on, investigators had suspicions about her husband, Raven, but it would take several years. before they were able to make an arrest. And we know, Gibbs, the husband is always going to be looked at, has to be ruled out.

Sure. Because husbands most of the time will have some type of motive, possibly, to want to kill their wives. And wives will have a motive or two to kill their husband. I think you can look at your spouse right across your room right now. right now, you know, just look at your spouse right now. That spouse has a motive on why they might want to take you out. Yeah. You probably have one that you might want to take them out. And I think it'd be healthy for, for everybody to sit down, you know, husband and wife or husband and husband or

wife and wife. Yeah. And just talk about your motives. Share your motives. Hash it out. Hash it out. Janet Marie Christensen Abarrow was born on June 19th, 19th. In 1979, in Alexandria, Virginia, she was the seventh of ten siblings. Her family were devoted members of the LDS church. That is a big family. That is a big family. Now, I'm not an expert on the LDS church, faith, but I believe they tend to have larger families than other segments of the population.

Is that fair to say? It is. I think it's encouraged to grow the family. Yeah, to have bigger families. Janet was described as a friendly, outgoing person. In 1998, she met Raven at Southern Virginia University, where she played soccer. Raven also played soccer and the two fell in love quickly. So they were both athletes in college, which means they were playing at a fairly high level. Sure.

And I'm sure they bonded over that. Raven said in a 2007 interview with the TV show NC Wanted. She was beautiful, attractive. I just felt so much comfort when I was with her. And we started this journey of getting to know each other and it was an amazing journey. I feel like I've heard you say that about your wife. Well, she is beautiful and attractive. And I'm very comfortable when I'm with her.

And it's been an amazing journey. See? I said 30, 30 years. last month, man. You did. In August 2000, Janet and Raven got married at the LDS Temple in Washington, D.C. They moved to southeastern Virginia.

Soon after the wedding, they both got job opportunities at Eurosport, a sporting goods company in Hillsboro, North Carolina. They settled in nearby Durham. I wonder how common that is. I think it's common for people to meet and fall in love at work. Yeah.

But how common is it to get married and then for both people to find a job at the same company? I think that would be not very common. Less common for sure, right, than the other way. But eventually, they started having marriage problems. According to 2020, Janet's sister, Sonia Flood said he came to her one day because he wanted to be out of the marriage and explained to her that he had been cheating on her with. several different people. And very soon after that, she found out that she was pregnant. You know, I mean, for your new husband to come to you, you know, I mean, it's a few years, but it's still new that say, hey, I've been cheating on you. I want out. And then meanwhile,

she's like, and I'm pregnant. I mean, you feel like you've got to be stuck. Well, Janet did confide in her family, that she felt helpless. She didn't want to raise her baby as a single mother. And, you know, finding out that you're pregnant for most people is like just such a joyous time. Yeah. And it should be. She should be happy. But she's in the middle of this very bad situation where her husband, you know, is admitting to cheating on her, not with one person with several different people.

Yeah. Now she has to decide. should I cut them loose or keep them because I don't want to raise this baby by myself. Their son, Caden, was born on October 17, 2004. According to Janet's sister, Sonia, Raven swore he would not cheat on her again. So on the outside, it seemed like maybe the two had worked things out. But in December 2004, Raven was caught stealing from the sporting goods company. He embezzled almost $10,000 and was stealing and reselling and reselling.

high-end merchandise. And I was a cheater on a different level. Which would be horrible if he worked there by himself. Yeah. But you have the added element that his wife works there as well. How shameful is that to her? It's going to be shameful. And it was said that she was mortified.

And although she wasn't involved in any way, she resigned. And I do think it would be hard, right, to continue to work there. You know, people are going to talk behind your back. and they're probably going to say things about you. Janet was murdered on April 26, 2005. It seemed like a normal Tuesday for the family. Janet picked Caden up from daycare and went with Raven to drop her car off for repairs.

A church member visited their home until about 7 p.m. Raven said Janet was getting ready for bed around 8 p.m. When he left to play indoor soccer with friends. His game started at 9 p.m. And he got home about 1040. Raven called 911 after finding Janet's body in an upstairs office. He told the operator, Janet had been shot, but police officers quickly realized she had been stabbed to death.

But I think if initially you walk in and see something like that, you could make that mistake. And we've heard other people in other cases, right, say something like that. This person's been shot, but when, you know, the authorities look into it, they were stabbed or maybe even the other way around. Let's face it, I'm picturing a very bloody scene. It may not be easy to tell what's going on. Raven said he found Janet in a kneeling position. Investigators found her lying on her back with her arms above her head. Her t-shirt had been pulled up to expose her chest.

and there was a bloody palm print on her chest. Raven reported that he turned her over when she didn't respond to him. Janet was stabbed in the neck and chest. She had what were described as minimal defensive wounds. And I think that's something that investigators would take a look at, right? What does either the lack of defensive wounds or very minimal defensive wounds normally mean? Yeah, that you know the suspect. Yeah, that you weren't confronted by a stranger and thought that you needed to put up a fight.

Yeah. Now, you could say maybe she didn't have defensive wounds because, or minimal defensive wounds, because she was taken by surprise. Yeah, I think you have to keep all of those things in play. The walls in the office were covered with blood, but otherwise the house was neat and orderly. Caden was found in another room unharmed. There were no signs of forced entry. There were no signs of a struggle.

Raven's laptop and hunting knife were the only things missing from the home. Other valuables like Janet's engagement and wedding rings were left in plain sight. So, you know, these are all things investigators are going to take a look at, right? No signs of forced entry. No signs of a struggle. kind of also things leading you to think that possibly she knew her killer. And Raven's hunting knife is missing. And his laptop, but yet the person leaves very valuable jewelry that is left out in plain sight.

Pretty questionable. It is. Because if you're a killer and you also decide that, Well, I've already killed. I'm going to take a few things. A hunting knife doesn't seem to be at the top of the list. Yeah. Right?

It's not particularly valuable. Now, a laptop might be worth some money. But obviously, her engagement ring, her wedding ring, things like that, those are things that could be worth something and pond relatively easy. Yeah. Janet's autopsy revealed that she was in. in the early stages of pregnancy. So, please question Raven, but they didn't identify any suspects.

Weeks and then eventually months passed with no answers. And Gibbs with everything we talked about, you know, obviously not only does Raven have to be questioned, but he has to be ruled out, right? He has to be thought of as a person of interest who has to be ruled out. There's too much here. Number one, he's the husband. He is the person who found Janet. Right.

He said that his laptop and hunting knife were missing, but this jewelry wasn't. I mean, there's nothing there that you would say, oh, well, yeah, obviously it's him. But these are also things that could potentially make it seem like maybe he had something to do with it. And if he did have something to do with it, did he turn her body over purposely? That way he could use that as a reason why DNA or fingerprints, whatever, we're on the body. We're on her body. But I keep coming back to this hunting knife. She stabbed the death and his hunting knife is missing.

In August 2005, Janet's family reported that Raven and Caden had moved to the Salt Lake City area. On August 23rd, Raven pleaded guilty to five counts of embezzlement. He was sentenced to 24 months of probation in order to pay $9,600 in restitution. A year after Janet was murdered, police said they didn't think her death was random, but they did not yet name any suspects. In February 2007, it was reported that police traveled to Salt Lake City to interview Raven. Police had not called him a suspect and said he was cooperative. But that tells me they haven't given up on him, right? I don't think they've ruled him out.

They still have questions of him. But it also means that they don't have any evidence or at least enough evidence yet to tie him to the murder. No, but I think they have to keep an eye on him. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And not a bad idea to maybe every now and then go interview him again. You know, is he going to slip up?

Is he going to say something different than he said in a previous interview? Yeah, maybe he'll change his story. In December 2007, Raven started dating a woman named Vanessa Pond. Vanessa was a single mom whose daughter was in the same daycare program as Caden. Vanessa later told 2020, Raven seemed very upfront, very honest and genuine. And I found out that he was a single father. and I really, really admired that. When they started dating, Raven mentioned that his wife died,

and she felt sorry for both him and Katie. Vanessa went online to find out more about Janet's death. At the time, she wasn't convinced Raven was innocent, but she talked to him, and according to her, he removed any and every doubt from my mind. According to Vanessa, he had his stories about how people were trying to frame him. about how horrible the cops were and how he continued to try to contact the police, to find out what was going on.

Not surprising that she went out to do a little research, you know, before she took it to the next level. Yeah. I mean, I think it's a good thing to do. And it doesn't surprise me either that once she learned what really happened, right, because he didn't say his wife was murdered. He said his wife died. Yeah.

In the research, she's going to very quickly find out that she was murdered in a very brutal way. Well, you're going to have some additional questions, right, for this person. I'm going to need some answers. But according to her, he erased any doubts that she had. So maybe he's a very convincing person. Yeah. They eventually decided to move in together. On Mother's Day, 2008, they got engaged.

When Janet's sisters found out about the engagement, they felt they had to reach out to Vanessa to make sure she knew what she was getting into. They told her they were fearful for her. Vanessa recalled, I was heartbroken. I didn't want to believe it at all that he had done this, but shortly before the wedding, Raven began acting in ways she didn't understand. On the day of her bridal shower, Vanessa and Raven got into an argument. Raven shoved her into a wall and poked her in the chest so hard that it hurt for several days after. Vanessa pleaded with him to stop. She later testified per WR-A-L.

He said he didn't care if I die. He said he wanted to hit me so bad and that he couldn't get in trouble anymore. He swung his hand back and stopped just before hitting her. Okay. Anger issues? Yeah, and it's a very bad sign for someone who is about to get married, that it seemed to me all of a sudden she's starting to see a different side to this guy. And you think it would be a good reason maybe to pause getting married. Well, do you have to also couple it with Janet's family reaching out to you and say, hey, we're worried about you. We want you to know what you're getting into.

I mean, just think about all of the people listening, Gibbs, a lot of whom have gotten married. I'll ask the question. How many of you listening right now received a call from someone in your loved one's life who said, you should not get married to this person. We're worried about you. He's dangerous. I mean, that would be a real.

eye opener. It would be. For a lot of people. And I'm going to think we're going to get a couple calls where people will tell you that they did get a call like that. Yeah. But, you know, when you think about, you know, Vanessa, I mean, red flags. I mean, you know, you got two pretty sizable red flags here. Red flags, yes. But is Raven so convincing that maybe he's able to spin some of these things? Because you think about the family calling. Could he spin it and say, well, you know, they have their suspicions. I didn't do it, but they think I did.

So they're going to tell you a bunch of stuff about me. None of it's true. Now, I don't know how you spin this act of domestic violence because she was the victim of it. She was there. She witnessed it. But if he can spin it, he's going to find a way to spend it. Yeah. And maybe it's, it's.

It's the old line of, I'm sorry, I'm never going to do it again. Trust me. And maybe that work. Because it does work sometimes for some people. But they got married on September 6, 2008, according to Vanessa, on the first night of their honeymoon. He was very drunk. And he started talking about how mad he was after Janet died. He just kept reiterating how mad he was.

And then he cuddled up close to me and said, I promise I'll never hurt you. And I didn't know how to take that. Yeah. It's a little strange at that moment. Maybe, you know, this is post-coitus. I don't know what's going on. It's honeymoon, right, night.

So, you know, you're laying there, you're spooning, whatever you're doing. He is talking about the murder of his first wife. And then when you add on to it, I promise I'll never hurt you. Right. Now, I'm sure he didn't emphasize the you, but you could make it out that way. You can. Yeah.

In that type of context. If you just say it out of the blue, I'll always take care of you. I promise I'll never hurt you. Okay. But when you're talking about how your wife was murdered and you say, I promise I'll never hurt you, that it takes on a different gravity. I feel like it changes the moment. mood of a honeymoon.

Well, yeah, I would think it would. You know, Raven became verbally abusive and he had rapid mood swings. Vanessa told 2020, within moments he could switch. He could say the most horrible things. And then moments later, he would apologize. And I think there are a lot of people out there like this, especially when you talk about people who commit acts of domestic violence, who are physically or emotionally abusive, they can flip on a dime.

Yeah. But then afterwards, it's all, you know, oh, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry. It's, it's whatever they can say to try to keep that person from either leaving them or calling the cops or both. Vanessa said there were also further incidents of physical abuse. She recalled, he grabbed me from the door and threw me up against the wall and then I fell. Later, he tried to convince me that I tripped.

Is that the definition of gaslighting? Oh, I think it is. Prime, right? Vanessa began to fear for her safety and her daughter's safety. She worried what would happen if she left. So she tried to get Raven to leave. And he did so on Christmas Eve 2008. Vanessa said in an interview with NC wanted, he was in the process of cursing me, calling me names,

saying how he hated me, telling me he didn't care if I died. Then he said, you know what, I want to hit you so bad, and I can't get in trouble for it anymore. So he was pushing me around in the bathroom and wouldn't let me out of the bathroom. And later, as Raven was leaving, he went downstairs and grabbed Caden and said, come on, we have to go. Mommy doesn't want us anymore. Who does that to a child? Their marriage was an old after just four months. Yeah, I can see why.

Yeah, I mean, just think about all the stuff that we talked about prior to the wedding and then what happened after the wedding. I mean, this just never was good from the get-go, I don't think. I think it was four months of what did I get myself into? I have made a terrible. decision here on the part of Vanessa. He really, I mean, and he's saying how he really wants to hit her. It's just not good. But also, what do you make of that?

I can't get in trouble for it anymore. Yeah, it's almost as though he's gotten in trouble for it before. Yeah. And this would be an additional and maybe more severe punishment would follow. I mean, you can take that a couple. different ways. Yeah, I'm not sure how he was leading this, but it's, there's something there. In the spring of 2009, Vanessa went public with her fears that Raven killed Janet. In her interview with NC wanted, Vanessa recalled how she searched Raven's name online and found his October 2007

interview with the program. He told Vanessa he spent months preparing for the interview and she wondered why he had to prepare so much. She also saw a video made by Raven that showed him opening a knife in front of Janet and talking about how he liked to collect knives. She was disturbed by the video because Raven told her he never had a knife collection and was not fascinated by knives. Okay. I mean, I have a knife collection. Yeah, so do I. You and I have talked about it before. Yeah. I mean, I like my knives. I don't know if I'm overly fascinated by him. No, I wouldn't say fascination is the word.

But I like to collect a lot of things. You know I do. You do. I have a ton of different collections down here in the studio. I'm looking at least three or four of them right now. Yeah. But that's just, you know, my personality. And I never ask what's behind that door there that has the chain on it.

And you should never. I don't really want to know. But I don't think there's any doubt, right? that between the turbulent marriage, the stuff that she's finding online, the discrepancies between what she was told by Raven and what he said in interviews, what she's seeing in videos, she just has a completely different opinion of him, right, than she did maybe in the beginning when she was defending him. Yes.

She can't do that any longer. No. As the wedding approached, Vanessa's parents decided to ask Raven directly if he killed Janet. According to Jodine Pond, and Raven's response to that was, I loved my wife in a beating around the bush kind of way. Yeah, I mean, if you want to have a sign that maybe this marriage is not going to work out, the bride's parents having to ask the groom, if he could. killed his first wife. Seems to be a real bad sign to me.

Imagine if that would have happened this past week down where you're at. Yeah. You know? I just can't even imagine having to come out and ask that. No. That just tells you the extent to which they were worried about it, they were thinking about it. It's not an off-the-cuff question.

There's a definite concern there. Absolutely. I feel like some of this conversation should have happened well before coming up on the wedding. Well, and you don't, we don't know, right? How much or what type of conversations they had with Vanessa about, you know, maybe this is not a great idea. We don't know. There's always some of that maybe here. That year, the Durham police assigned Detective Charles Sol to review Janet's case.

Sol noted from the beginning that Raven gave contradictory statements to law enforcement. Seoul also learned that the family was dealing with financial problems. Raven took out a life insurance policy on Janet, which he cashed in days after she died, despite the fact that they were behind on bills and receiving aid from their church. Raven never missed a payment on that life insurance policy. See, that's pretty telling. It is. Now, you and I have talked about life insurance policies before. I mean, they are a good thing. You want to be able to take care of your family in the event that something tragic should happen to you.

But I would think for a lot of people, if you can't pay your bills, if you can't put food on the table, that might be one of the first payments that goes unpaid. Yeah. You mean, you've got a shifter price. priorities. Soul reviewed crime scene photos and noticed a key detail. Janet's contact Lynn's case was sitting open in the bathroom indicating that she had not yet taken out her contacts. Family and friends told Sol that Janet consistently removed her contacts before going to bed. So this kind of contradicted Raven's story that she was getting ready for bed when he left the house. Sol also noted the lack of disturbance of the crime scene. With stabbings, there's usually a violent struggle between the victim and the perpetrator,

and that's part of what we talked about, right? There were quite a few things that at least on the surface seemed to indicate that either Janet knew her attacker or she was taken so completely by surprise that she didn't have a chance to react really whatsoever. On February 1st, 2010, Raven Abaroa was arrested in charged with first degree murder. In July 2010, the Christensen family agreed to have Janet's body exhumed to determine if she was still wearing her contacts. Forensic analysis determined Janet had AcuVue contacts in her eyes, which she always took out as she got ready for bed. This was enough evidence to send Raven to trial.

Okay. Now, it seems thin. It does. But there's a lot of stuff, I think, behind it. But I wouldn't say, but I wouldn't call it smoking gun. But it does contradict his story. It does. Right? She always takes out her contacts.

When she goes to bed, he said she was getting ready for bed. So they must have thought that was enough. Jury selection began on April 22nd, 2013. In their motion to dismiss, the defense claimed investigators collected blood that pointed to a third person at the scene and argued that a state bureau of investigation agent who examined blood on Janet's shirt was discredited in 2011 for fabricating,

ignoring, and withholding evidence in several other criminal trials. An independent investigator did not agree with the original investigator's findings. They also argued that evidence left at the crime scene, which was destroyed by a church cleaning crew, could have cleared raven. Well, it doesn't surprise me that the defense is going to file a motion to dismiss. Now, I think what is a big problem, and you do see this sometimes, right, when you have someone in a position of power, in this case, you know, an agent with the Bureau of,

of investigations who is discredited. And they were part of this case. There's a little bit of taint there. It's going to hurt. And it does happen sometimes. The judge denied the motion to dismiss and the trial opened on April 29th, 2013. The jury heard from 80 witnesses, including Raven's ex-wife, Vanessa Pond, and several other women who testified to Raven's violent behavior.

several of Janet's friends also testified regarding Raven's abusive behavior. Well, that's not going to be good for him. No, but it's just a piece of the puzzle. It is. You can be an abusive person, but not be a murderer. It doesn't make you a good guy, but it also doesn't necessarily mean you're a killer. No, it doesn't. Prosecutors offered no motive, but said circumstantial evidence would build a picture.

of why Raven was guilty. I mean, yeah, you can somehow toss in the life insurance. Yeah. You can also throw in the fact that he was a cheater on several levels. Yeah, maybe one to be with someone else. Maybe the motive was money. Again, they don't always have to prove motive or they don't have to prove motive. But like I talk about a lot, I mean, I think so many of these cases are in large part

circumstantial. And it's just putting brick by brick, right, building the case up where the jury believes beyond a reasonable doubt that the person is guilty. Yeah. I just don't always think it's like the Perry Mason episodes that we used to watch. I mean, you watched them when they first came out. I watched the reruns because they were in black and white. But, you know, in Perry Mason, there was always that aha bombshell. Oh, yeah. where now he was getting his client off because he was a defense attorney, right? But that's kind of the thing. It was proven.

Something bombshelly was proving that his client couldn't have done it. I don't think in a lot of these cases, the prosecution, you know, they always have that one piece of evidence like DNA that proves conclusively the person did it. I think a lot of times it is just circumstantial, but it's a lot of circumstantial evidence. It's true. In their opening statement, the defense acknowledged that Raven wasn't perfect, but there was no evidence to suggest he killed Janet. The Durham police focused solely on him and ignored evidence that might have pointed to another suspect. Investigators found an unknown fingerprint in the closet of the office, which began the disregard of evidence that might have cleared him.

investigators also found a bloody shoe print next to Janet's body and a blood stain on the frame of the side door of the home that contained unidentified DNA. But that could come from anything. Well, it could, but I do think, you know, if you if you break down the defense's argument, they're making some strong points, right? They are trying to say that investigators got tunnel vision, right? They locked in on Raven. they pretty much disregarded anything else. The one thing that, you know, you can talk about an unknown fingerprint in the office

or the closet of the office. Yeah, that could come from, you know, a lot of different people. The one that is kind of disturbing is a blood stain that contains unidentified DNA. All right. Could that have come from

somebody doing some work on the house, somebody that came over from the church and was helping out, happened to have a cut or something. Yeah, it could. Possibility. But you know, the defense is going to try to make it out that, all right, this is the real killer right here. Why are you not trying to go get him? The defense noted that there had been more than a dozen car and home break-ins in the neighborhood prior to the murder, including a car break-in on the night of the crime. In that case, jar of coins in the car was disturbed. Police ignored evidence of a canine leading investigators to a creek in front of the Abaro home where they found a coin. So they're trying to tie the murder into, you know, all of these car break-ins and home break-ins. Well, if you can,

for them, it benefits to tie them altogether. Yeah, because you could see how, you know, possibly it could cast some doubt in a juror or jurors. Janet's mother, who's also named Janet, testified that her daughter confided in her, that Raven left the marriage because he was unfaithful. Janet said that Raven verbally abused her, but didn't hit her. Janet Christensen testified per WRAL. She said that he would be up and happy, and then that he would be way down. And when he was way down, she said, what he did was verbally abuse me. And we've talked about verbal and physical abuse a lot over the years.

And they're both terrible. But we have had listeners write in, leave voicemails and say that they've experienced both. And some people have said that the verbal can actually be worse sometimes. Yeah, I think it lingers with them. But again, neither one is good. No. Nobody should be doing that stuff. Unfortunately, it does happen way too often.

Former neighbor Lisa Seeley testified that on several occasions, she could hear the couple having heated arguments. Two weeks before the crime, she saw Janet holding on to the hood of the couple's car while Raven was driving. They both laughed off the situation and said they were kidding, but she was concerned because it was abnormal and because of the prior argument. It seems like something you would see in a made for TV movie or just a movie. Yeah, like you have somebody hanging on a car while somebody else is driving.

Now, it could have been that it was a real argument, but then when they saw that, you know, one of the neighbors was watching, they tried to play it off because they didn't want to look bad or something like that. Durham officer Jason Williams testified that Raven was extremely composed when he spoke to the police after finding his wife's body. He was crying, but not uncontrollably. He had an answer for everything. Again, on how people respond when they find their spouse murdered. Some people are going to lose their mind. Other people will shut down. Some people find a way to be, I don't want to say cool and calm, but they're kind of cool and calm. I mean, you know, and maybe they break down later when no one's around.

It could be. I mean, there is no one way. But you'd have to admit that the more calm and collected you are, the stranger is going to look to police and people who respond to these types of situations a lot because it's not going to be the norm. Former medical examiner Thomas Clark testified that Janet suffered three stab wounds, one to her left hand, one to her chest. and one to her neck. The neck wound was fatal. She likely lost consciousness within a few minutes and died soon after. The neck wound cut the right subclavian artery and punctured her right lung,

causing her to bleed about two liters of blood into her chest. And it sounds like a very horrible way to die. It really does. Janet's hormone levels indicated that she had recently been pregnant. During cross-examination, Clark said the levels also could have been high after a recent miscarriage. And we just got done a little bit ago talking about possible motives. The one that we didn't talk about was Raven finding out that Janet was pregnant and not wanting to be a dad after this marriage had crumbled. It just really seems like an act of rage of how she did.

died. Somebody was really upset with her. Clark said it was impossible to determine the exact time of death because of factors such as the temperature of the house affecting decomposition. Raymond Wilson, Raven's former boss at the sporting goods company, testified that he played with Raven on the company soccer team. Raven's personality on the soccer field was different. He got into arguments and sometimes physical arguments. But, I don't know what you make of that, Gibbs. I mean, are people sometimes different when they play sports? I would say, yeah. I think so. It's a pretty competitive sport, too. I mean, you're going to be pushing and jouston out on that field. And it's kind of normal. I know I'm a different person on the

basketball court than I am in the office. Right. I'm not, I'm not body checking people in the office. It's frowned upon by HR, I believe. But on the court, I mean, it's a physical game. And sometimes, you know, you're pushing, shoving, you're yelling at people, you're getting into arguments. That's why so many people at the office that played basketball with you after hours didn't really want to play basketball with you after hours. Yeah, I tend to be a little rough. Janet's friend, Megan Dowd Counsel, testified that Janet confessed to her that she confessed to her that she, she was scared of her husband.

Months before she was killed, Megan said she told me things were getting weird and that Raven was making her nervous that she was scared of him. Before Janet could elaborate, Raven walked into the room. Megan told W-R-A-L, Janet bowed her head and just looked like a scared animal.

Megan also testified that Raven flirted with her shortly after her conversation with Janet. Raven was sitting on her couch, and asked her to look at something on his computer. He told her to sit in his lap, and she looked at him like he was crazy. As I would think, most women would when their friend's husband tells them to sit on their lap.

That is not a normal interaction. No, no, it's not. It's not going to probably go over well with your wife either. If she finds out about it? Yeah. And then the first. friendship's going to be in danger as well. Megan testified that during another visit with Janet in early 2004, Janet told her,

she thought her husband might have bipolar disorder. Megan said she didn't know who she was going to have to deal with each day. Raven was never the same person. His mood could be one way, one day, and completely different than next. That's so scary, man. It is. Charlotte Revelle testified. outside the jury's presence that in 2003, Raven invited her to his apartment to discuss a

problem she was having at work. Janet wasn't there. And Raven wanted her to watch a video of him and Janet having sex. She didn't want to see it. She tried to pull away. At that time, Janet returned home from work to have lunch. And Raven pushed her into a closet. She was completely freaked out and didn't know what to do. It's not. It's not. It's not funny. It's not, but you almost have to laugh because it's so wild. And the fact that she went into the closet and probably stayed there. Because she didn't know what to do. Yeah. But I do think what these people are doing is they're painting a real bad picture of Raven. Sure. Right. This is the guy who obviously didn't care much about his wife because we already know he had numerous extra. marital affairs. You've got these testimonies of, you know, he flirted with me. He asked me to sit on my

lap. He wanted me to watch a video of him and Janet having sex. I mean, this is just very strange stuff. It makes you just wonder, you know, next time you go over to a friend's house and they put a tape in, you're like, what's this tape about? Yeah, well, first of all, I'm going to ask, why do you have a VHS in 2006. That's going to be my first question. That's the first red flag right there. How old is this? Now, the judge ultimately allowed Charlotte's testimony because it helped establish a motive that Raven didn't want to be married. And I think that's important, right? If you're the prosecution, you were trying to get that across to the jury. Folks, here's a man who didn't want to be married.

He has this life insurance policy that despite having financial difficulties, he kept making the payments on, can you put it all together? Yeah. And he cashed it in within days. Janet told her friend and coworker Kathy Cheek that as long as Raven took his medicine, he was okay. And when he didn't, he was verbally mean. Janet told Kathy that they separated in early 2004, but didn't tell her why.

Kathy said, Janet just said that she was sad and lonely and didn't understand why he left, why things were the way they were. Janet feared Raven's reaction when she found out she was pregnant with Caden because Raven didn't want a child. Well, that's just going to tie him down even longer. So you have to take that into account when she then finds out that she's pregnant later on before she's killed. Oh, yeah, I'm sure it's a struggle for her to, uh,

deal with, knowing how he felt about the first child. And that's when maybe the relationship was actually halfway decent. Now it's in the dumper. Oh, it's terrible. Big time dump dumper. Are you saying you have a big time dumper? I just wonder if you're going to pick up on that. On at least two occasions in the two months before her death, Janet called Kathy from a pay

phone, asking if she and Caden could spend the day with her because Raven was in one of his moods. Adrian Nelson, a friend who worked for an insurance company in Utah, testified that Raven asked her about different life insurance policies during a visit in late 2004. Adrian told him that because of some of Janet's health issues, it was unlikely she would qualify for a policy worth more than $500,000. Raven said he could find a better insurance policy for cheaper. Janet's friend Brittany Ramito testified that Janet considered moving away at one point,

but she decided to stay and work on the marriage when she became pregnant with Caden. However, she told me her greatest fear was that her child would ever be alone with Raven. I don't know about you, but I'm just getting this feeling that Janet was just in a horrible position. I feel like she was locked in. like between a rock and a hard place. I mean, she got married. I think she saw who this guy really was after she was married and already had a child together. It's kind of in our nature, most of us, to try to make things work, especially when there's a child involved.

According to Brittany, Janet was once fun, happy, and strong, but she was beaten down by Ravens' abuse. Brittany testified the loving charismatic Janet that I knew no longer existed after being in a relationship that was so abusive for so long. Her only motivation once Caden was born was Caden and keeping Raven happy. Witnesses testified about the couple's financial problems. Raven talked about selling his truck or motorcycle and had to negotiate his lease for cheaper rent. At the time of Janet's death, he was wrong. working as an admission specialist for a company that specializes in online courses, and he was making about $30,000 a year. He was in jeopardy of losing his job if he didn't reach sales goals.

During a review of financial records from the couple's home, investigators learned that the couple spent as much as they made. They had four auto loans, a $500,000 insurance policy for Janet, and a $1 million policy for rape. There was a check-in Janice organizer for more than $1,100 to a bankruptcy attorney, but they never filed for bankruptcy. Definitely in financial distress. Yeah, but here's my question. Why does a guy who makes $30,000 a year need a $1 million life insurance policy?

Don't. Doesn't make any sense. Maybe if you do 10 times your current earning, so maybe $300,000, but why? 500, but a million just seems very high. It does. Now, a person could make the argument that if you've got something nefarious in mind, right, you want to have more out on you so that you can make the argument, well, I didn't kill for money. I had a million. Yeah. On me. We only had $500,000 on her. I mean, it looks better than if it was, if it was for less than the other way around or something like Janet's sister, Sonia Flood testified that Janet stayed in the marriage because despite everything, she wanted to keep her commitment to Raven and to God.

And that's another thing that we kind of haven't talked about in a while. And that's the LDS fate. Yeah. So, you know, how much of that played into it for Janet wanting to keep this marriage together? I think it played a big piece of it. I imagine it did as well. Sonia also testified that a few weeks after the murder, when Raven stayed with her at her home in Virginia,

she found a CD backup of his computer hard drive. dated April 25th, the day before the murder, her husband made copies, and she waited to give them to the police because she was unsure and had mixed emotions. According to WRAL, Sonia said, I was really mixed because Raven was someone, one Janet loved. And I loved Janet, even though thinking he had committed this act, it was still

hard to sort through it. Vanessa Pond also testified about the abuse she endured during her marriage to Raven. She testified that despite her reservations about his innocence and the violent incident on the day of her bridal shower, she went through the wedding because, as she said, I was really the only one in the position to get the information that they needed. So I felt like I could do that. I went through with the wedding. And if he wasn't guilty, then we could have a great relationship with a lot of bumps along the way. But if he was guilty, I was hoping that I could help.

She's trying to be positive, right? If it's not good, if he's a killer? Yeah. Then what? I can help put him away. It does seem, and I don't want to second guess people, right? That's not my place. But it does seem like a strange reason to go through with a marriage.

It does. If he's not guilty, then maybe it'll be okay. If he is, then I can help put him away. It's a pretty strange rationale. It is, but who am I to judge? The jury also heard from Ravens' former coworker who said, she had sex with him on a late-night road trip because she was unsafe and was unsure what he might do to her. They became friends when she was 17 and still in high school.

Their relationship changed in college in the fall of 2003 on the way back from a road trip to Charlotte. Raven started making unwanted sexual advances and they pulled off at a highway restop where they had sex. She testified, I finally realized that I'm going to need to need. to follow through with what's happening here. I felt like I was unsafe and that something was going to happen. I just wanted it to be over. On the way back, she was so nervous that she left her hair in the car. So investigators could find her DNA if something happened.

She never talked about that night with rape. So he sexually assaulted her. Yeah, I mean, this is a very bad guy. He's not yet convicted of Janet's murder. Yeah. But if all this other stuff is true, you know, he's an abuser. He's a sexual predator. At the very least.

The jury also heard that when Janet was exhumed, contact lenses were found in her eyes, which discredited Raven's story that Janet was getting ready for bed when he left that night. The defense maintained that Janet never spoke of physical abuse and that most people who knew them said they were a normal happy couple. And I'm telling you, Gibbs, I've talked about it time and time again. There is a difference in many people's lives between what happens behind closed doors and what they let those people around them see. Very true. And I actually think that's especially true with some of these men who are physically and verbally abusive. They don't.

want people to see that. No. So they, they don't do that in front of friends and family. They try not to. They save that for, you know, behind closed doors when nobody else can see. I mean, most cases,

these are going to be fun-loving people to hang out with. Yeah. You're not going to know it. They have to have that facade. Yeah. Defense witnesses provided a different view of the couple's relationship, one witness said that Janet and Raven were a prime example of what he wanted for his future relationships. He never heard the couple argue. Darius Nearing's testified that

he lived with the couple for several months in 2003 and never heard them argue or saw signs of mistreatment. During the trial, the defense learned about Janet's work computer and hard drive, which they didn't have access to before. Forensic examiners found dozens of flirtatious emails between Janet and a former boyfriend, which essentially turned this case on its head, according to the defense. The emails were dated within weeks of the crime. So I think what they're trying to say there, Gibbs, is, okay, do we have another person who may have had a motive to kill Janet? I mean, you can try to make that case. And I think that's something they would do or did.

Prosecutors presented their theory of how Janet died. In closing arguments, she had likely finished washing dishes and was prepping lunch for the next day when she was killed. Her rings were found by the kitchen sink. Witnesses testified earlier that she never washed dishes with her rings on.

Peanut butter, jelly, bread, and sandwich bags were also laid out on the counter. It was likely that Raven called her to the office. and stabbed her as soon as she stepped into the room. There was little indication of a struggle. Janet never saw it coming. After being stabbed in the chest, she likely fell to her knees,

clutching her throat. Raven approached her from behind and stabbed her in the hand and the neck. She then fell face down. The prosecution hinted at a financial motive. Raven wanted to live beyond his means and he was in financial straits. he was close to losing his job and facing embezzlement charges.

He hadn't paid rent, but never failed to pay the premium on Janet's life insurance policy, which could help solve all of his problem. Right. In their closing argument, the defense noted that the police ignored evidence, including the computer hard drive found in storage at the Durham PD. The hard drive allowed the state to present a dishonest picture of who Janet Aberrored. was who Raven Abaroa is and what their relationship was like. So the case went to the jury on May 29th.

Then on May 31st, the judge declared a mistrial due to a hung jury. The jury deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of conviction. Wow, 11 to 1. So there was one person who held out. Raven rejected two plea deal proposals. But then in 2014, rather than risk a retrial. Raven agreed to enter an Alford plea on March 12, 2014.

Raven made an Alford plea for voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to 95 to 123 months in prison with credit for four years' time served. Raven said in court is quoted by WRAL, I didn't receive a fair trial the first time, and I don't think I'll receive a fair trial the second time. the fact is that I love my family very much. And I don't think it's worth risking the possibility of spending the rest of my life in prison

for something I didn't do. I take this plea to ensure that that doesn't happen. And that's the only reason. I did not kill my wife. Raven served three more years in prison and was released on Christmas Day, 2017. And from what I could tell Gibbs, he's not spoken publicly about this sense.

I don't know why you would want to open that up. And I'm with you. I don't know what he would have to gain by talking about it at all. But I want to go back to the Alford plea. I mean, really, Gibbs, if you think about it, it was probably the best thing for him. Oh, the way this was headed? For sure.

I mean, 11 to 1, to 1, 2. convict hung jury is pretty close. Yeah. Thinking that you're going to spend possibly the rest of your life in prison. I mean, he's arrested in 2010. He's released in 2017. So he did seven years. I mean, yeah, pretty lucky, right?

I mean, seven years after he pleaded. Now, if he's not guilty, he lost seven years of his life. Yeah. And I will say that, you know, this is not a slam dunker. There's a lot of evidence that doesn't make him look good, right? Leans toward him being guilty. It doesn't surprise me that 11 people voted to convict him. I could see that.

Sure, you can. I could also see how a person maybe had some reservations that maybe the state just didn't quite have enough. In 2019, Ravens' ex-wife, Vanessa Pond told 2020, that her advice for women who might meet Raven is to stay far away from him. She said, please listen to what's out there. What's available on the internet. Please don't be drawn in.

And please get away as fast as you can. So for me, you know, as we wrapped this one up, he did serve seven years in prison. Like I said, if he didn't do it, he lost seven years of his life. Yeah. But if he killed his wife in cold blood, as I believe, believe a lot of people think he did. And he got off really light in my eyes. He really did. But the Alford plea to me, it takes both sides, right? So that means maybe the state wasn't all that confidence. I think they had to be lacking something for them to even consider it. That's usually how

it would go. Yeah. Maybe they didn't want to go through the expense or maybe they just thought, you know, we think he's guilty, but this case isn't as strong as we'd like for it to be. I don't know, right? I didn't read anything where they came out and explicitly said why they went with the Alford plea. It's a strange case, though, in that I can see how neither side would be happy, right? Obviously, he's not happy because he had to do seven years in prison. The family is not going to be happy because they,

believed that he killed Janet and he only did seven years in prison. Yeah. Nobody's going to be happy. No. No great win for anybody. And although technically he's guilty, right, of voluntary manslaughter, there still is a lot hanging out there because with the Alford plea, you know, you maintain your innocence. But you admit that the state has enough evidence to.

probably get a conviction, whatever the exact wording is, I don't know, it's a little unsatisfying if that's the right word. I think it's a good word to describe what happened. Like there's finality, but there's not. Right. So did Janet really get justice, did her family really get justice? I highly doubt that they see it that way. I don't think they would. But that's it for our episode on Janet Aberroa. We got a voicemail. You want to check that out? Let's hear it.

Hi, Mike and Gibby. My name is Faith. I'm a listener all the way down here in Savannah, Georgia. I'm currently watching, which one is it? Sorry. I'm currently watching the Casey Woody episode, and I got to the comment where Gibby was talking about the girl at crime con doing the index finger and the thumb. I haven't even finished episode. I literally, I called immediately.

I just wanted to say that that. That is a good thing. A lot of people, that's when you go, you say clock it or you say that's tea and you put your fingers together, but it is a very good thing. You like it. It's good. And then I just wanted to add, there was a different episode about someone else out here in Savannah, and y'all were talking about the city of Rankin, and y'all are calling it Rincon. But a lot of people who aren't from here call it RingCon. And even, like, Siri on the map, we'll call it RingCon.

But we call it Rankin. Anyway, love this show. I've been listening for, I don't know how long now, but thanks. all right love it thanks for the voicemail thanks for calling in i absolutely gibbs i don't know if i've said it before but i love savannah yeah you do it is one of my favorite cities i love the architecture the whole midnight in the garden of good and evil vibe and it's just a really cool city you're probably going to paint your door blue too i might i might i don't know it's supposed to keep away the uh evil spirits something like that i've also had some

some really good food in Savannah over the years. I've only been there a few times, but they'll have you back there. They also have some great peach cookies. I forget the name of the company. You love those peach cookies. But I know it's in Savannah. Yeah. And they sell these,

they're little small peach cookies that are out of this world. And you couldn't get enough of those. My whole family loves them. Yeah. But that's it, buddy, for another episode of True Crime All the Time. So for Mike and Gibby, stay safe and keep your own time ticking.